Of Parents and Children
by Taylor King
Summary: Sasha's return to New York and her relationship with her parents. Gavin/Olivia/Sasha


Author's Note: Blame the power outage at the Super Bowl for getting this finished tonight. So this is the chapter story I made reference of a while ago. I've been playing with it for a while now and have the 1st 3 chaps done, but updates will get slower after chap. 3. I know exactly where I want to go w/ it, it's just a matter of writing it. I had gotten away from it, but the posting of Ep. 11 onto iTunes got me motivated to pick it up again.

This is my interpretation of the Sasha storyline. In it, Gavin and Olivia both knew she was alive and where she was. I'm combining elements that we know from the show, plus the storyline of the book that the show is loosely (and I do mean loosely) based on. Book info is here: 666-Park-Avenue-Gabriella-Pierce/dp/0061434779/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359934201&sr=1-1&keywords=666+park+avenue . If you haven't read it, I'm going to do a basic explanation in the next chapter. If you're thinking of reading the book, just be prepared it is VERY different from the show.

This chap is a taste, we'll get more into the SL in later ones This chap does bounce back and forth from present to past.

_Home Again_

Sasha Doran awoke and started at the ceiling. Outside, Saturday morning was in full swing in New York City. She took a moment to situate herself. She hadn't fallen asleep until nearly 4AM, and he heavy feeling of unease that had kept her awake still clung to her. Sasha rolled over and fumbled through the blankets.

Her phone was under her pillow, tangled in the edge of the pillowcase. She pressed the iPhone's center button. The screen illuminated, revealing only the black and gray background with the date and time glowing at the top. There were no signs anyone had tried to contact her in the four hours she'd been asleep.

Sasha sat up and swung her bare feet onto the carpeted floor of the hotel suite. Just to satisfy every option, she unlocked the phone. There were officially no text messages, no missed calls and no voicemails. She hadn't accidently missed, deleted or answered something in her sleep.

She was going to have to make a phone call she did not want to make. But really, at this point in the game there was no choice. Since Halloween night, she'd texted her mother five times, as well as one voicemail last night, and had received no response.

While she normally would have written the situation off as nothing, the events of the Drake's Halloween party had been so bizarre-not to mention that she was certain both parents had disappeared at some point in the evening-that this time she could not shake that something had transpired on Wednesday evening.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Sasha unlocked the phone and pulled up her contacts. Under the Favorites tab, "Dad" was the first on the list. She sighed and pressed the screen, buying herself a few more seconds as the phone told her it was "calling Dad-mobile".

Gavin picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Where's Mom?"

"Well good morning to you too." Gavin replied. Sasha picked up his usual tone of annoyance when he had to deal with her. "What can I do for you this morning?"

Sasha growled and felt a surge of energy in her. She fought it back, and won. She liked her phone, and it would surely be the first thing to fry if she lost her temper. And it was not worth losing her phone over her father being himself.

"Look, I left Mom five text messages since Wednesday night and she didn't pick up when I called last night. I know she wasn't at the party when I left. Now what's going on? I'm starting to freak out over here."

"So you're saying you've been worried, but didn't bother to call me for answers until this morning?"

She wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him. The energy surge was rising again.

_Calm. Calm. He's not worth it._

Sasha took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Is Mom there or not?" Gavin made another sound that was clear irritation.

"Here. Talk to your daughter." Gavin's voice sounded farther away as he moved the phone from his mouth. A second later Olivia picked up.

"Sasha?" Her voice had a tone of suspicion. "Is everything all right?"

"Mom." Relief flooded through her. "I'm sorry, I was just really worried because you didn't-."

"I know, I know darling. I got them. Things just got a little crazy yesterday and I didn't have a moment to return them. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to worry."

"It's all right. You're ok….right?"

"I'm fine Sasha. Why don't you stop over tonight if you're free?"

"I will. What time?"

"9?"

"That sounds good. I'll be there."

"Good. I'll see you tonight darling."

"Bye Mom." Sasha quickly ended the call before Gavin had a chance to get back on the line.

She dropped the phone back onto the bed and stood up. At the window, she drew back the curtains, checking out the November morning. New York and LA were two different cities. And while LA was nice, New York was home.

Sasha had returned to New York City the week after Labor Day. It hadn't been in the long term planning, she'd just woken up one morning and realized she was tired of California. It had its perks, but her life had been in New York. She wanted what she had left behind, not to mention what she was entitled to there.

So she'd quit her job, given her cat to a friend, sold her car and bought a one-way ticket to JFK. Sasha hadn't kept in contact with her parents over the years. It was better that way, given why she'd had to leave in the first place. So needless to say both Dorans had nearly had simultaneous heart attacks when they'd come home to find her neatly posed in the penthouse living room that September evening. Olivia had cried, and she'd suspected Gavin had wanted to, but for different reasons.

That had been almost two months ago. And in the two months it had been Olivia who had extended the olive branch. They'd managed to repair most of their relationship. The only times they had problems was when Gavin was inserted into the equation.

Gavin's simple presence in a room could set Sasha on edge, and Olivia into referee mode. Gavin and Sasha had not even attempted repairing their relationship that had fallen apart before she left. They'd fought a lot in those days. In most cases, she'd meant what she said. When she left, she hadn't said goodbye to either parent, and there'd been no contact until the past September.

Sasha heard her phone buzzing and went back to the bed. She wondered for a moment if it might be Henry Martin, but it was only a California friend touching in. She'd met him twice this week, and he intrigued her. Henry hadn't been her idea; he had been Gavin's. He'd brought up the subject on a night when he'd interrupted a particularly good conversation between she and Olivia. The fact that Olivia had also just given her a pair of $3,000 boots had been greatly helping the evening.

"We hired a new building manager today." Gavin had told her conversationally, draping an arm around Olivia as he settled idly onto the sofa beside her. Sasha took the opportunity to admire her new boots and nodded without much interest.

"Mom was telling me that. Some young couple from the Midwest."

"Yes." Gavin's enthusiasm about the current topic was officially making her suspicious. "You should meet them."

"And introduce myself as your kid?" Sasha looked up at her father. "Yeah, that'll go over well."

"No. Henry's in city politics, or rather wants to get into a career in them. With your public relations background, you could…." Gavin shrugged. "Just a thought." He smiled at her. Sasha rolled her eyes. She could see Olivia tensing.

"Why do I have to get involved in this, Dad? I have enough freelance projects going right now from the firm to keep me busy." _And to keep me from needing too much of your money_, she thought but didn't say. Gavin's money had appeared in her checking account regularly for ten years. She didn't know how he did it discreetly and didn't care as long as it kept coming. That had been part of the original agreement.

"Think of it as a side project. A favor to me."

"Why should I be doing you favors again?" Sasha kept her intensely suspicious glare trained on him. Gavin didn't seem bothered by it.

"You could approach him under your alias, of course."

"Because that's just what I was planning on doing-giving myself away to your latest staff member." Her hostility went up a notch. Olivia gave her a warning look.

"I'm just saying." Gavin told her innocently. "They're about your age. It would do you good to meet some people in the city."

"Oh now you're setting up playdates for me?" Sasha was struck with disbelief. She was used to Gavin's games, but this was getting ridiculous. "Really Dad? Really?"

Olivia was down right glaring at her now. Sasha ignored her.

"What's your game this time, Dad? What do you want me to do? And why?"

"I think you could help me find out exactly what path Henry wants to be on politically, see just how driven he is." Gavin told her, leaning forward on the sofa. "Give him some guidance."

"So you want him getting guidance from someone you can guarantee will give you updates and tell him what you want him to hear?"

"Test him really. See if he's serious. See what he'll do." Gavin was looking at her like he wanted an answer.

"I'll think about it." It was the best she could do tonight.

"If you decide to go through with it," Gavin leaned back as casually as if they'd been discussing the Jets season, "I'll let you know when the opportunity is right."

"Oh good." Sasha smiled at him. "I should be going." She got up, reaching down for her purse. Gavin made no indication to move. Olivia followed her to the elevators. She hadn't lost the disapproving look.

"I'm sorry ok? He just always starts with me. He can't just sit in the same room with me and-."

"I know." Olivia told her. "But you….handled it well." She gave Sasha a knowing look. Sasha shrugged, winking.

"I've gotten a lot better than I used to be." She kissed her mother. "Thanks again for the boots."

The next time the subject of Henry Martin came up, Sasha's phone was ringing in the middle of the night and waking her from a dead sleep.

"Hello?" She had been too sound asleep to worry if anything was wrong.

"Just wanted to see if you saw the late news." Gavin had asked her.

"You couldn't ask me that in the morning?" Sasha sat up, rubbing her eyes. The clock said it was 1:38. "What did you do now?"

"I told you I'd find an opportunity for you if you wanted to talk to Henry Martin. It happened tonight."

"Is anyone dead?" Sasha asked.

"Yes, but no one important."

"I'm sure their family would disagree." Gavin made a sound of annoyance.

"Check the news. See if it entices you."

"Are you giving me a choice now? Let me guess, Mom's standing right next to you." Silence.

"Yes. To both." Sasha chuckled softly. Olivia was the only person who could rein Gavin in.

"I'll take a look at it. I'll call you back."

"Good." Sasha had hung up before he could say anything else. Now wide awake, she'd pulled up local news sites and read about the events of shooting at the Mayor's house. So Martin was a hero now. That did make for good publicity. She was mildly intrigued.

At 3:30, it had been her turn to wake Gavin.

"What?" He'd sounded irritated.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you sleeping?"

"What do you want, Sasha?"

"Just to tell you I'm intrigued. I just need some more information on him. How long do I have?"

"I'd act quickly if I were you. Take advantage while you can."

"Is Tony working tonight?"

"Yes…why?"

"Just need some more information."

"Yes, he's late tonight."

"Awesome. I'll talk to you later."

"Good night, Sasha." He'd clicked off the line.

Tony was the only person on the Dorans staff who knew who she really was. And the only person she thought could give her some additional information on the new resident manager. At 4:00 in the morning in the deserted lobby, he'd been more than happy to unload everything he knew about Jane and Henry. And she discovered while her dislike for Jane was growing, Tony seemed to like neither of the couple.

She'd been sitting in the penthouse kitchen when Olivia came in tying her robe at 7:30.

"What are you doing here so early?" Olivia asked once she'd gotten over her shock.

"Drinking coffee." Sasha held up the cup.

"I can see that." Olivia reached passed her and poured her own cup. "It's 7:30."

"Your husband woke me up at 1:30. I never bothered to go back to sleep."

"It's always my fault, isn't it?" Gavin came into the kitchen fully dressed. "What did you come up with?" Sasha looked at him blankly.

"I came up with the fact that it was 6:30 and I needed coffee and it was cheaper up here than in Starbucks." Olivia rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to take a shower. Do you two think you could try and keep most of the blood in here where it will clean up easier?"

Gavin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Sasha.

"How did your conversation with Tony go?"

"I'm going to do some research today. I've got a few contacts I'm going to call. I'll catch up with you tonight, if that's all right?" Gavin nodded and glanced at the clock.

"You should go before someone sees you. It's not safe this early."

"It's never safe here." Sasha took her final sip of coffee and put the cup down. "I'll be back tonight."

It had taken less than half a morning of phone calls to get Henry's schedule. With her credentials, a television interview was easy to get into. She marked the date and time and made a list of everything she'd picked up on Henry and Jane in the last few hours. Granted, Gavin probably could have supplied a lot more, but she was not about to go to her father for help.

And there was also the fact that whatever was going on with the couple and the Dorans was making her blood boil. Tony had filled her in on the parties and events the Dorans had been taking Jane and Henry to; while she had no reason to be jealous, but she was. Incredibly. Sasha knew full well that she could not join her parents at those events, but that didn't mean she wanted another couple taking her place.

Unfortunately the jealousy was still consuming her when she stepped off the elevator into the penthouse later that evening. She realized as she stepped into the entryway that she probably should have just made a call to Gavin, and stayed in to stew over her anger alone. But now, it was a bit too late for that.

The doors to the terrace were open. She followed the breeze and stepped outside. Gavin and Olivia stopped their conversation, both looking up.

"Well darling you're getting very impressive about sneaking in." Olivia smiled as she kissed Sasha's cheek. "Want a drink?"

"Yeah, sure." Sasha eyed the glasses on the table. She couldn't identify the liquid in them. "Whatever you guys are having is fine."

As usual, Gavin ignored all the pleasantries, looking at her expectantly as she sat down.

"Henry's doing a television interview on Wednesday." She told Gavin. "I'm going to be there. I'll catch him afterwards."

She took the glass Olivia held out to her and took a sip. Whatever the liquid was burned. She couldn't identify the taste.

"It's a good start. I'm sure you'll only increase it from there." Gavin nodded. "Can you make the party Wednesday night?" Sasha almost choked on the swallow of unknown liquor she'd just taken.

"Why do you ask?" She cleared her throat and eyed the glass suspiciously.

"Because I want you to come to the party." Sasha looked at Olivia. Olivia shook her head.

"It's up to you."

"Is it safe?" Gavin seemed to consider this question.

"Make sure your costume has a mask. Keep it on all night and you should be fine."

"Guess I better get a costume." Sasha mentally ran her schedule through her head. She'd forgotten about the Drake's Halloween parties. Now she was going to have to squeeze finding a suitable costume into one of her days.

"I'll find you one." Olivia smiled at her. "It'll be at your hotel tomorrow."

"Thanks." That was straw which broke the camel's back. Sasha didn't want to say what was on her mind at the moment, but her mother's offer made it impossible to hold back. "By the way, either of you have any thoughts on how Jane ended up with the $4,000 dress I saw her wearing in one of the newspaper articles I found online today?"

Gavin and Olivia exchanged questioning looks.

"Sasha, what does that have to do with anything?" Olivia asked.

Sasha bit her lip. Her jealousy was burning and boiling over. _She _was their daughter. It was _her_ they should have been buying $4,000 dresses for.

"You know which one I mean right? The McQueen at the symphony event she and Henry went to? With you guys?" Both parents looked like they wanted to respond, but she cut them off. "I'm just saying, she doesn't look like the type to be able to afford it. Either that or she has a fairy godmother no one bothered to mention." This time, Sasha turned her accusing glare directly to her mother.

"Sasha, really-." Olivia had begun, but Sasha cut her off with a sigh and an eye roll.

"I expected this from him, but you too?"

The conversation hadn't lasted much longer. Sasha had cut things short. Now she had been in the mood to argue with both parents. And while arguing with Gavin was amusing from time to time, arguing with Olivia just made her feel bad.

She hadn't spoken to either of them on Tuesday. Her schedule had kept her busy enough she hadn't had time to think about it. But when she'd made her way back to her hotel room, there was a potted orchid sitting on the coffee table in the sitting room beside a large white box.

The box contained a periwinkle dress and a matching feather mask that would successfully conceal her identity. Tucked in with the dress was a note:

_You will always be my rare orchid. –XOXO Mom_

Sasha pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the items. She sent it to Olivia with a message:

_I love it. And I love you. _

Laying the mask on the table, she picked up the dress to check the sizing. Interestingly enough, Olivia had let the store leave the price tag on.

It read $4,100.

"Point proven, Mom."

A/N: Thanks in advance for reading. I promise to explain all the details as we keep going through it.


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